?Chapter 1029:


    Jeffry couldn’t deny it—he hade hoping to run into Lydia. However, when he caught sight of the car she had just exited, a shadow fell across his face and all optimism vanished.


    Once Lydia stepped onto the pavement, Ethan rolled away to find a parking space. Only Lydia and Jeffry remained on the sidewalk, the distance between them thick with unspoken words.


    Irritation flickered in Lydia’s eyes as soon as she saw Jeffry. Thest thing she wanted was to deal with him.


    Jeffry’s steady, appraising gaze trailed over her as if trying to decipher every detail. The cigarette in his hand had nearly burned down to nothing, the heat biting at his fingers, but he acted as if he felt nothing at all.


    Though the winter sun was soft, they both squinted as if facing a harsh re.


    Suddenly, the sharp burn jolted Jeffry out of his thoughts. Without meeting Lydia’s eyes, he flicked the stub away and stomped it out on the concrete with a force that betrayed his irritation.


    Trying to shut him out, Lydia drew her brows together and shifted her gaze. She brushed past him, keeping silent. She had said everything she needed to. Their long history together had taught her exactly what kind of man Jeffry truly was. He seemed calm and reserved but was actually domineering and headstrong. Her final words to him had cut deep, and she was certain that his pride would keep him from bothering her again.


    Yet as she passed, Jeffry’s voice stopped her, low and insistent. “Lydia.”


    She hesitated, pausing for a moment, but made no move to look back at him. Behind a set of sses, something cold and unreadable flickered in Jeffry’s eyes. He swallowed hard and tried to keep hisposure. “Tell me,” he said, his voice tight, “what’s your rtionship with him?”


    “Him? Who do you mean?” For a second, Lydia was baffled. She whipped around.


    A storm gathered on Jeffry’s brow. “I’m talking about Ethan. Are you two together?”


    Jeffry had done his homework. Ethan, the director of the National Security Bureau, was Lydia’s superior at work. Still, Jeffry couldn’t make sense of why her superior would double as her driver.


    The mention of Ethan only made Lydia’s lips curl into a smirk. “Is that how it works in your head? You think the only reason a man and a woman would show up together is romance?”


    Read all updates on gα?ησv??ls


    Jeffry faltered, caught off guard by her blunt reply.


    Lydia slid one hand into her pocket. “You don’t get to decide what kind of people I spend time with. And I have no interest in exining myself to you. As far as I’m concerned, we’re nothing to each other now. So next time, just act like you’ve never met me. I’m done talking to you.”


    Jeffry’s eyes darkened further. Silence pressed down between them.


    Lydia didn’t care what he thought. Her only wish was to put as much distance as possible between herself and him, hoping their paths would never cross again. Despite the’s sprawling streets and endless crowds, Jeffry kept appearing, like a curse she couldn’t shake. Whenever their eyes met, old wounds—ones she’d tried to mend—split open—raw and aching—as memories of her own foolishness came rushing back.


    Lydia set her sights on the staircase and began to climb. Words gathered in Jeffry’s throat, but just as he thought to say something, the memory of that shattered mug made him falter. Still, her name slipped past his lips before he could stop it. “Lydia.”


    Normally, hesitation wasn’t in Jeffry’s nature. Yet something about her presence always left him second-guessing himself.


    .


    .


    .